Fluid coupling



April 14,1942. 1 w. A. DUFFIELD 2,230,042

r FLUID COUPLING Filed Aug. 17; 1959 Patented Apr. 14, 1942" UNITEDSTATES" PATENT OFFICE FLUID COUPLING William A. Duflield, Windsor,Ontario, Canada,

assignor, by mesne assignments, to Amador Botello, New York, N. Y. 1

Application August 17, 1939, Serial No. 290,563 v 3' Claims. (01. 60-54)This invention relates to improvements to fluid couplings andparticularly to the type covered by my United States Patent No.2,156,040, dated April 25, 1939. i

In that patent means were provided whereby the fluid 'could be evacuatedfromthe' working circuit of the coupling and'returned thereto.

This consisted'of an impeller member'of the fluid coupling, having areservoir around the shaft on which it was journalled, with a by-passpassage from the reservoir opening directly into the runner member atitsouter edge. This construction provided for the evacuation of fluid fromthe working circuit into the reservoir when the speed of rotation of therunner member exceeded that of the impeller member; andthe return of thefluid to the working circuit when the speed of rotation of the impellerexceeded that of the runner member.

The present invention provides means whereby the return of the fluidfrom the reservoir to the working circuit can be controlled regulatedand adjusted.

By this means, the runner member after the evacuation of the fluid fromthe working circuit permits it to over-run the impeller member, and

will continue to over-run that member, until the latter reaches acertain speed of rotation, ad- .justed by the novel regulator means.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawing in which a t Figure 1 is avertical cross section of the fluid coupling.

Figure 2 is a cross section on the lines 22 of Figure 1. I

I As shown in Figure 1, the impeller member 3| as the by-pass passage 52having an opening 53 to the outer portion of the runner member 4 andleading to the outlet 54 in the inner or central portion of thereservoir 5. This reservoir 5 extends outwardly and has a series ofcentrifugal spring-controlled ball valves 60 at its peripheryopeninginto the by-pass passage 5| to provide. outlets from thereservoir to permit the return of the fluid into the working circuit.The ball valves 60 are adjusted by the screw'plugs'G3 whereby thetension of, the spring 62 can be impeller 3 is sufiicient to openthe-ball valves 60 the fluid will begin to flow back into the workingcircuit-9 of the runner 4.

, the reservoir, a predetermined speed is required varied. 'When thecentrifugal force of the fluid' in the reservoir due to the speed ofrotation of the passage into the reservoir.

fly-wheel I 0. The flange 40 of the runner 4 is bolted to the flange 20of the driven shaft 2 which is journalled at its end in the bearing H inthe fly-wheel Ill and also in the bearing 1 in the inner portion of theimpeller 3. i Y

The impeller member 3 is shown in two castings for constructionalpurposes. shell 30 with its vanes 35 and core 34 has an outer shell 3|forming the reservoir 5, and a flange 36. Over and around this castingis the shell 32 extending from the extension 33 to the inner end of thereservoir 5 where it is bolted to the flange 36. The sleeve 8 is alsobolted to' plug 63. .Between the flanges 40 and 36 of the impeller andrunner an inner reservoir 50 is provided, with passages 5| from the mainreservoir.

Air tubes 43 from the cores 41 to the inner reservoir 50 are alsoprovided.

With a construction of this type, when the speed of rotation ofthedriven shaft and runner exceeds that of the impeller, the fluid in theworking circuit will flow through the by-pas's As the working circuitbecomes depleted the runner over-runs the impeller freely. In order toreturn the fluid to the working circuit and couple the impeller andrunner, the drive shaft must be speeded up. But by means of thecontrolled outlet valves from to open these valves. The runner willtherefore continue to over-run the impeller until after this speed isreached. The result is valuable and important when the coupling iscombined with transmission mechanism.

It is also of value and importance in prevent- The impeller ing creepingof the fluid from the reservoir to the working circuit when the couplingis rotating at idling speed.

What I claim is: 1. In a fluid coupling of the type specified, a

,drive shaft, a fly-wheel bolted thereto, a driven shaft having its endjournaled inthe fly-wheel, an impeller member bolted to the fly-wheeland journalled on the driven shaft, a runner member having core andvanes, bolted to a flange on the driven shaft, the impeller membercomprising an inner shell having a core and vanes, an' outer shellforming a reservoir, and a by-pass passage from within the runner memberand about the reservoir to its inner end, the outer end of the reservoirhaving a series of adjustable outlet valves opening into the by-passpassage.

2. In a fluid coupling of the type specified, a drive shaft, a fly-wheelbolted thereto, a driven shaft having its end Joumalled in thefly-wheel, an impeller member bolted to the fly-wheel and journalled onthe driven shaft, a runner member having core and vanes bolted to aflange on the driven shaft, the impeller member comprising an innershell having a core' and vanes, an outer shell forming a reservoir, anda by-pass passage from within the runner member and about the reservoirto its inner end, the outer end of the reservoir having a series ofadjustable outlet valves opening into the by-pass passage, and an innerreservoir around the driven shaft and inside the impeller and runnermembers with passages from the reservoir to the inner reservoir.

3. In a fluid coupling of the type specified, a drive shaft, a fly-wheelbolted thereto, a driven shaft having its end joumalled in thefly-wheel, an impeller member bolted to the fly-wheel and journalled onthe driven shaft, a runner member having core and vanes bolted to aflange on the driven shaft, the impeller member comprising an innershell having a core and vanes, an outer shell forming a reservoir, and aby-pass passage from within the runner member and about the reservoir toits inner end, the outer end of the reservoir having a series ofadjustable outlet valves opening into the by-pass passages, and an innerreservoir around the driven shaft and inside the impeller and runnermembers with passages from the reservoir to the inner reservoir, and airtubes from the core to the inner reservoir.

WILLIAM A. DUFFIELD.

